rationalism
the principle or habit of accepting reason as the supreme authority in matters of opinion, belief, or conduct.
Philosophy.
the doctrine that reason alone is a source of knowledge and is independent of experience.
(in the philosophies of Descartes, Spinoza, etc.) the doctrine that all knowledge is expressible in self-evident propositions or their consequences.
Theology. the doctrine that human reason, unaided by divine revelation, is an adequate or the sole guide to all attainable religious truth.
Architecture.(often initial capital letter)
a design movement principally of the mid-19th century that emphasized the development of modern ornament integrated with structure and the decorative use of materials and textures rather than as added adornment.
the doctrines and practices of this movement.: Compare functionalism (def. 1).
Origin of rationalism
1Other words from rationalism
- ra·tion·al·ist, noun
- ra·tion·al·is·tic, ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal, adjective
- ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
- an·ti·ra·tion·al·ism, noun
- an·ti·ra·tion·al·ist, noun, adjective
- an·ti·ra·tion·al·is·tic, adjective
- non·ra·tion·al·ism, noun
- non·ra·tion·al·ist, noun
- non·ra·tion·al·is·tic, adjective
- non·ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal, adjective
- non·ra·tion·al·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Words Nearby rationalism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rationalism in a sentence
Today, most of us view scientific rationalism and spiritualist belief as mutually exclusive.
How Two WWI POWs Conned Their Way Out With a Ouija Board | Margalit Fox | May 31, 2021 | The Daily BeastRaymond Guidot, the French design expert, says that Bellini came to Olivetti as "the champion of utter rationalism."
Yes, Holmes was the quintessence of the Victorian rationalism, “the most perfect and reasoning machine that the world had seen.”
He was the founder of Tao-tze, a kind of rationalism, which at present has millions of adherents in China.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordThe denial of universal ideas is rationalism and materialism in philosophy, as it is Pelagianism and Arminianism in theology.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V | John Lord
Anselm had successfully battled with the rationalism of Roscelin, and also had furnished a new argument for the existence of God.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V | John LordSimilar superstitions attached to somnabulism; see Lecky, “History of rationalism,” vol.
The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney HartlandHow far the gloomy materialism and superficial rationalism of Lewes may have affected the opinions of Miss Evans we cannot tell.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume VII | John Lord
British Dictionary definitions for rationalism
/ (ˈræʃənəˌlɪzəm) /
reliance on reason rather than intuition to justify one's beliefs or actions
philosophy
the doctrine that knowledge about reality can be obtained by reason alone without recourse to experience
the doctrine that human knowledge can all be encompassed within a single, usually deductive, system
the school of philosophy initiated by Descartes which held both the above doctrines
the belief that knowledge and truth are ascertained by rational thought and not by divine or supernatural revelation
Derived forms of rationalism
- rationalist, noun
- rationalistic, adjective
- rationalistically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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